The Cold War
Two alliance blocs, a divided Europe, and decades of proxy wars, spy scares, and a race to space and to the brink of nuclear war.
6 topics · 19 questions
Each topic is a path, not a menu: work down it in order and every question builds on the one above. Click any of them to watch the answer draw itself.
Containment, the Iron Curtain, and the Berlin Airlift
- How it worksShow me the Iron Curtain splitting Europe into a Soviet-aligned east and an American-aligned west after 1945.
- Going furtherWhat happens to Germany's map once the Berlin Airlift's standoff hardens into two separate German states.
- How it worksWalk me through how the Berlin Airlift flew in supplies around the clock after the Soviets blockaded the city in 1948.
Your turn1 of 2
After World War II, US strategy toward the Soviet Union settled on containment - stopping communism's further spread - rather than rollback, actively reversing Soviet control where it already existed. Why did the US choose containment?NATO, the Warsaw Pact, and the Korean War
- How it worksShow me the Korean War's front line swinging the length of the peninsula before settling near the original 38th parallel.
- Going furtherWhat happens to Cold War alliances in Asia once China turns communist just months before the Korean War begins.
- How it worksCompare NATO's Western alliance with the Warsaw Pact's Soviet-led bloc formed in response to it.
Your turn1 of 2
NATO and the Warsaw Pact each declared that an attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all. Why did Cold War Europe split into two alliances built this way?McCarthyism and the Red Scare
- How it worksWalk me through how Joseph McCarthy's accusations of communist infiltration spread from Washington into Hollywood and schools.
- Common mistakeWhy isn't McCarthy's crusade proof that Soviet espionage in the US government was as widespread as he claimed?
- How it worksHow did the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings pressure witnesses into naming other suspects.
Your turn1 of 2
Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed to hold a list of communists working inside the US government, though he never produced solid evidence for most of his accusations. Why could such unverified claims destroy careers overnight?The Space Race and the Arms Race
- How it worksTrace the space race from Sputnik in 1957 to the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.
- Worked exampleTrace the US and Soviet nuclear stockpiles climbing from a few hundred warheads in the 1950s to tens of thousands by the 1980s.
- Going furtherWhat happens to US science education funding once Sputnik convinces Congress the Soviets are ahead.
Your turn1 of 2
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, a beach-ball-sized satellite, into orbit. Why did that launch terrify American military planners?The Cuban Missile Crisis
- How it worksShow me Soviet missile sites in Cuba sitting within range of most major US cities in October 1962.
- Worked exampleTrace the thirteen days from the U-2 photos revealing the missiles to the deal that removed them by late October 1962.
- How it worksWalk me through how Kennedy's naval quarantine of Cuba stopped Soviet ships without firing the first shot.
- Ties togetherHow does the Cuban Missile Crisis's resolution connect to the direct hotline set up between Washington and Moscow afterward?
Your turn1 of 2
In October 1962, the world came closer to nuclear war than at any other point in the Cold War. Why did the crisis get resolved through secret letters between Kennedy and Khrushchev instead of missiles?Suburbanization and the Interstate Highway System
- How it worksShow me suburbs like Levittown spreading outward from cities as returning veterans buy homes on the GI Bill.
- Going furtherWhat happens to a city's downtown and public transit once its shoppers and workers move to the suburbs.
- Worked exampleHow did the 1956 Interstate Highway Act's 41,000 miles of new roads make a daily commute into the city possible.
Your turn1 of 2
After 1945, millions of American families left cities for new, nearly identical houses in suburbs like Levittown. Why did so many make that move?